


Home

by MarvelousMenagerie (HiddenOne)



Series: Home [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Multi, Neighbors, Parent Tony Stark, Pre-OT3, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21762889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenOne/pseuds/MarvelousMenagerie
Summary: “Dad, why are those two guys having a snowball fight in our yard?”Tony and Harley move into a new house and end up meeting the neighbors when a snowball fight gets out of control.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Home [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568479
Comments: 38
Kudos: 413





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Tony Stark Flash Bingo 008 - snowball fight

“Dad, why are those two guys having a snowball fight in our yard?”

Tony sighed. Pepper was supposed to have vetted the neighborhood before Tony had bought the house. Usually Pepper’s standards were exceptionally high, but she appeared to have missed something because two grown men were trampling across Tony’s front yard while pelting each other with snow. 

Tony was really starting to regret this “new start” that he’d been so convinced that he and Harley had needed. Touring high schools all day had exhausted both of them, and now to come home to this?

Maybe they should pack up - what little they’d managed to unpack - and move back. That was why Tony had Pepper hold off on selling the old place anyway, just in case they changed their minds. 

“Don’t know,” Tony answered. “Looks like they used up the neighbor’s snow too.” 

The snow in front of the neighbor’s house was trampled, and there were brown patches where the dead grass was showing through the snow. Tony wished the neighbors had taken care of it - or maybe they did, by sending them down to Tony’s lawn. Maybe Tony could pass them down to the next house. 

Tony pulled up into his driveway and geared himself to face down the pair. He didn’t actually care about the snow, but he didn’t want a precedent of allowing this pair access to his lawn. As soon as Tony parked the car in the garage, Harley was out of the car and dashing to the front. 

“Harley,” Tony scolded under his breath. Of all the times for Harley to decide not to run away to his bedroom and avoid people, it had to be now. 

Shouldn’t Harley have been even more exhausted and overwhelmed with all those tours and talks with teachers and administration? Even Tony’s head was buzzing, and he was considering telling Harley that staying homeschooled was an option. Tony wanted Harley more involved and meeting more people - Harley hadn’t ever clicked with fellow homeschooled kids - but confronting these two crazies fighting in their yard was not what Tony had in mind. 

Tony hurried after Harley. It’s not like they didn’t have more snow in the backyard if Harley wanted to build a fort or a snowman. Of all the stupid things for Harley to get possessive about, it had to be snow. 

“Sorry, sorry!” the man in the dark blue jacket said, holding his snow-covered mittens up in defense. “Had a battle to win and got carried away. You must be the new neighbors. I’m Steve, and this is Bucky. We live next door.” He thumbed to the house with all the churned up snow. 

Great, Tony internally sighed. The crazies were their neighbors. He was definitely complaining to Pepper about her background checks. 

“We’re happy to repay your snow. We can shovel ours over after the next snowfall,” Bucky said. He was bundled up in a black peacoat with a vibrant red scarf and hat, his eyes barely visible but his bright grin easy to see. “I think that might be Thursday or thereabouts.”

“Not necessary,” Tony said hastily. He came up behind Harley and squeezed Harley’s shoulders to keep Harley quiet. Making the neighbors do extra work like shovel snow in their yard is exactly the type of prank that Harley would find funny. 

And Tony would find it funny too, but he didn’t want to come across as an asshole right from the start. 

“I’m Tony, and this is Harley,” Tony introduced. “Good to meet you.” 

There, introductions had happened and he was pleasantly normal. Pepper and Rhodey would be pleased when he told them. 

Steve came over and offered his hand. His glove was encrusted with snow, and he pulled back as he tugged off the glove. He sheepishly offered out his hand again, this time with his bare hand that had red-tinged fingertips. 

Tony shook Steve’s hand, and Steve’s hand almost engulfed Tony’s. Steve’s hand even managed to be warm, which Tony appreciated since he hadn’t found a pair of gloves yet in all the boxes still packed away in his house. 

“Welcome to the neighborhood,” Steve said with a blinding grin. Tony realized that Steve’s eyes were also very, very blue. “If you need anything, let us know and we’ll be happy to help. We like to think we’re a good sort.”

Tony was used to platitudes, and Tony blinked in shock because Steve seemed to actually mean what he was saying. 

Great. Exactly what Tony needed. Very kind, very hot neighbors. That would definitely not send him spiraling into a mid-life crisis. Except it had been his own idea to move and get a fresh start, so maybe his mid-life crisis had already begun and this would send him deeper down that hole. 

Either way, he was blaming Pepper for this. How could she not have warned him? 

“Anything,” Bucky chimed as he came over. He had a palm full of snow that he slapped won the back of Steve’s neck, a pleased grin on his face, before he also tugged off a glove and offered a hand. “Except maybe don’t let us bake you anything until we make sure our oven is fixed.”

Steve yelped and danced around as the snow went down his coat.

“I’ll remember to ask,” Tony said, distracted as he watched Steve. 

Bucky shook Harley’s hand first, then Tony’s. 

“Sorry again, about stealing your snow. I was winning.” Bucky winked at Harley. 

“You were not,” Steve said, his shoulders giving one last great shiver before he stomped back over to shake Harley’s hand. “I was winning.”

“Wrong, very wrong. You need back-up, Stevie. That is, if you want to join in?” Bucky grinned at Harley. “Of we could go neighbors versus neighbors, you and your Dad against us.”

Tony felt too old for this, mostly because of how happy and energetic Steve and Bucky looked. 

Moving in the winter, making Harley start over in the academic mid-year, spending the holidays in a new place and facing down everything with his newly divorced status had Tony regretting all of his decisions. 

Harley perked up though, because Harley liked to be contrary about when he was social. “Sure, as long as I’m on the opposite team as my dad.”

“Oh no, is this revenge for something?” Tony teased as he tried to drudge up the energy he’d need to last. 

“I want you on my team,” Bucky told Harley. “I like the look of your aim.”

“I’m even more offended,” Tony drawled. 

Bucky winked, his blue-grey eyes seeming to sparkle with mischief. 

Tony felt his grinch heart grow two sizes. Maybe some of that happiness and excitement could transfer to him and Harley. That was more of the new, fresh start feeling that Tony was looking for but had gotten buried under all the tasks and responsibilities of actually moving. 

Bucky tugged Harley away, the two of them dashing over to a snow-filled spot on the far side of the yard. 

Steve siddled closer to Tony. “Sorry to interrupt your day.”

“It’s fine,” Tony said, and he actually meant it. “It’s something fun, and surprisingly there’s so few of those moments when packing and moving and unpacking. Or at least, I’m assuming so on that last bit. We haven’t done too much unpacking yet.”

Steve grimaced. “It doesn’t sound fun. I can’t imagine having to move an entire house.”

Half a house, Tony wanted to correct, but he ate the words instead. He didn’t need to be the bitter divorcee and vent to this neighbors, especially when his neighbors seemed perfectly happy with their own lives. 

“It is getting cold though,” Tony said, just to have something to say. 

Steve grinned. “It is. But don’t worry, the sun will set soon so you won’t have to put up with us for long. Not even Bucky will want to try to throw snowballs in the dark.”

“Young at heart?”

“Something like that.” Steve smiled, a soft smile that made Tony embarrassed to even see it.

So Tony didn’t. He turned down to the snow, which was already churned up at their feet. 

“I think we need fresh ground to prepare ourselves or we’ll be overcome.”

Steve gave Tony a wicked grin. “I think the best defense is a good offense,” he said. He scooped up two handfuls of loose snow and then sprinted towards Bucky and Harley. 

Tony trailed after, smiling as Steve pelted Bucky and Harley with the loose snow. 

“Attack, attack!” Bucky called out to Harley and started pelting Steve with their preparations. 

Steve scooped up some of the snowballs that Bucky and Harley had made and turned their own ammo against them. 

“Hey that’s cheating!” Harley protested as he threw a snowball right at Steve’s face.

The snowball burst against Steve’s cheek, and Steve laughed as he whipped another snowball that smacked against Harley’s shoulder. 

Tony laughed, then had to dodge a snowball that would’ve hit him in the chest. Bucky, the culprit, grinned at him and threw another softball at Tony that was easy to dodge. 

Bucky was being gentle with the old fart, Tony decided, and Bucky would get payback for that. Tony scooped up a handful of snow and packed it down. It was the wet, heavy stuff that had the weight for a good toss, and Tony smoothed it out before he whipped it at Bucky. 

Bucky dodged most of it, but it still clipped him in the side.

“I’m hit! I’m going down,” Bucky cried out as he staggered as if he had a mortal injury. “Harley, avenge me.” Bucky collapsed onto the snow, eyes closed and tongue hanging out. 

“I can handle them, even out-numbered,” Harley declared.

“Oh you can, can you?” Tony challenged. 

Harley bared his teeth. Steve tried to sneak by him to get to Bucky, but Harley threw a snowball his way. Tony knelt down in the snow, not even caring that it soaked through his pants, and started rapidly making and firing snowballs to distract Harley. 

Harley laughed, loud and joyous in a way that Tony hadn’t heard in too long, and then started throwing snowballs back at Tony. 

Tony took the hits, only moving when he needed to access more snow. He kept an eye on Steve, who had begun to sneak back toward Bucky while Harley was distracted.

“No mercy for the dead,” Steve declared. He dumped a whole handful of loose snow over Bucky’s face. 

Bucky sat up, sputtering. “Harley! You said you had them!”

“I lied!” Harley shouted with no remorse as he continued pelting snow at Tony. 

Tony was freezing and covered in snow, but Harley looked like he was having the time of his life. Steve was laughing and Bucky was scrambling for a defense, and maybe Tony didn’t need to send Pepper any blistering emails about making mistakes when vetting the neighbors. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Tony Stark Flash Bingo - 008, hot chocolate
> 
> Thank you to betheflame for the read-through!!

“Okay, I’m freezing,” Steve said as he tucked his fingers under his armpits. His nose and cheeks were bright red from the cold. 

“Five more minutes,” Harley said as he reared up to toss another snowball. 

“Nope, all done,” Tony seconded, trying not to sound eager. “Put your snowballs down and step away from the ammunition.”

Harley scowled, his joy melting away as if spring had already come and swept away all the snow. He dropped his snowball and crossed his arms. 

Tony tried not to glare, though it didn’t matter. Harley wasn’t meeting Tony’s gaze anyway. 

“Thank you so much for the wonderful evening,” Tony said to Steve and Bucky. He walked over to Harley and wrapped an arm around Harley’s shoulders, giving Harley a gentle shake. 

“Thanks,” Harley mumbled.

“Thanks for letting us use your snow,” Bucky said brightly, thankfully ignoring Harley’s mood. “Hopefully we’ll get more soon and we can have ourselves a rematch. Though I think we know who won.” Bucky reached out and offered his closed fist to Harley. 

Harley rolled his eyes but bumped it, and Tony thought he saw a hint of a smile on Harley’s face. 

“Maybe next time we can get even more people involved,” Steve said excitedly. “More of an all-out snowball war! We have a really great block, it’ll be super. You’ll love everyone.”

Tony’s smile crystallized on its edges. “Sounds wonderful,” he lied. 

“Totally!” Harley piped up, suddenly and suspiciously cheerful again. He tilted his head back and sent a knowing grin up at Tony. 

Tony squeezed the back of Harley’s neck in warning. 

“Yeah!” Steve continued, oblivious. “There’s even a kid about your age, Harley. His name is Peter, and he lives in the split level, just down a few houses.”

“ _Awesome_. I’m sure he’s _super_. Don’t you think he’ll be _super_ , Dad?”

Steve’s smile dimmed.

“Okay, kid, a little thick.” Tony sighed and ruffled Harley’s hat. “You need friends, it’s a thing, so try to be less of an ass, yeah?” He turned to Steve and Bucky with an apologetic smile on his face. “You don’t happen to know what school Peter goes to? We were poking around all day at the options.”

“Shield High?” Bucky turned to Steve.

Steve nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, Shield. Good school, from what I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, that one made the short-list,” Tony agreed. 

“If I can pass their test to get in.” Harley huffed. “Why should I have to take their stupid test to go to their school? That’s just dumb work.”

Shield High had a strong academic program, and students had to test-in to be enrolled. There was room for Harley, Principal Fury had told them, especially with Harley’s scores and records of achievements. Shield High’s test was more of a formality, but one that needed to be observed. 

Another hoop to jump through. 

“And life is full of it,” Tony replied. “Especially high school, so suck it up.”

Tony internally winced. This was the problem with getting to know the neighbors - then the neighbors get to know _them_ , and neither Tony nor Harley can keep their mouths shut long enough to keep the polite imagery intact. No question where Harley got his sass from, at least. 

But Bucky and Steve both laughed, and it even sounded like genuine laughter instead of the polite chuckles that Tony had come to expect from people. 

“Wisdom,” Bucky agreed with a smile. “And hey, happy to keep chatting inside? Steve can make us hot chocolate - it’s from scratch, it’s awesome - and we can maybe warm up a bit.”

“You’re inviting us to your house?” Harley asked.

“Well it’s just weird if they invite us into _our_ house,” Tony said lightly. 

This was why Tony wanted Harley to go through the effort of a new start. Harley wasn’t used to having close friends or getting invited anywhere that wasn’t a boring adult party that was part of Tony or Maya’s work. Harley hadn’t clicked with any of the other home-schooled kids, and it was all too easy for Tony, Maya, _and_ Harley to get lost in their own science projects then try to get Harley involved in more team-related extracurriculars. 

Tony blamed himself, mostly. It had been a joint decision at first - he and Maya had yanked Harley out of middle school when Harley had problems with bullies. Both Maya and Tony had struggled enough with bullying during their own schooling that they couldn’t bear to put their son through that. Tony had rearranged his schedule to work mostly from home as Maya had to be on-site for her job, but they’d made it work to homeschool Harley. 

Tony liked to think it was a good choice. Harley was growing up to be a good person - full of wit and humor and compassion. Even in sardonic teenager form, Tony thought his son was wonderful. There were so many good things about Harley, but Tony needed Harley to meet more people Harley’s own age, or at least in that ballpark. What if Harley didn’t meet his Rhodey or his Pepper, all because Tony let Harley hole up in the garage to work on science projects? 

With this new move, it let them try over again. Harley was willing to try high school, and Tony was willing to let Harley find his footing even if that took some time. 

Also, Tony wanted someone else to try to force classic English literature down Harley’s throat because Tony was tired of fighting that battle.

Practicing social skills with the neighbors - someone who wasn’t the adults that Harley knew well, like Rhodey or Pepper, was perhaps a good route to go. 

“And yes, we’d love to get some hot chocolate. I don’t think we have any at our house, quite the tragedy,” Tony said. 

“None?” Steve gave them look full of pity. “Then you definitely have to come over. Uhhh, Bucky why don’t you run on ahead and um, straighten up a bit.”

“Oh, right, yes,” Bucky agreed with a laugh and then dashed off toward their house. 

“We’re not usually messy. It’s just been a crazy week.”

“No judgement,” Tony hurried to assure. “I don’t think you get any worse than our house. Boxes everywhere, still. Have not yet managed to find the silverware, and so we’ve been using plastic.”

“We know where they are,” Harley argued. “Pepper labeled them. They’re just buried under a bunch of other unimportant stuff that they aren’t worth digging for.”

Tony sighed and wondered if Steve and Bucky were going to gossip about them to all the other neighbors. “Right.”

“I hate unpacking,” Steve sympathized as he slowly led them over to his house. “Even a suitcase. Like I said, I can’t imagine having to move an entire house.”

Tony nodded in thanks.

“Really it was only half,” Harley replied. “Mom and Dad split it fifty-fifty, so it was all fair.”

Now they were definitely going to gossip with the neighbors, Tony sighed. Oh well. Better that it was out there before anyone decided to ask, right? And it wasn’t like Tony needed to be ashamed about the divoce. Most Americans couldn’t cut it when it came to staying married, so Tony was only one small part of a larger statistic. 

No big deal, not at all. 

“Good thing we didn’t end up doing that with you. Don’t know what use only half of you would do, just lazing about.” Tony thumped Harley on the shoulder.

“You could sell one of my kidneys on the black market. I’d bet it’d be worth loads of money,” Harley offered.

“I will keep that in mind,” Tony said. 

“Uh, watch your step,” Steve warned as he led them up the wooden front steps to front porch. “The third one is a bit loose. Bucky has been meaning to fix it but hasn’t gotten around to it yet. He’s much handier than I am.” 

Tony and Harley skipped the loose step, though less gracefully than Steve had with his long legs.

“I can fix that for you, as a thank you for the hot chocolate - and snowball fight,” Tony offered.

“Oh, thank you, but that’s not necessary,” Steve assured as he opened the front door and waved them through. “No trade needed. This is neighborly generosity, and something we should’ve done when you moved in, even!”

“It’s been a crazy move-in, so your timing is perfect,” Tony said. 

Rhodey would be so pleased with Tony’s manners, Tony would have to remember to tell him about it.

Harley stared at Tony as if Harley had never seen him before, which Tony didn’t appreciate. Tony knew how to be polite, he just rarely decided it was worth the effort.

“There’s a coat closet on your right and then the kitchen is down the hallway and to the left,” Steve said. 

It took several minutes to remove all their snow things, getting puddles of melted snow all over the rug. Tony stumbled when trying to take off his other boot and stepped in a pile of slush with his sock. He yelped at the cold and hopped away, knocking into Steve and sending them both tumbling against the wall. 

Steve was a soft sweater covering hard muscle, and Tony scrambled away from his position of pressing both of them against the wall. 

“Sorry!”

Steve grinned. “No harm done.” His face was red, but that was probably from the cold.

Tony’s own face felt warm, and he hoped that everyone chalked it up to the weather too.

Harley, impatient, rolled his eyes and trotted down to the kitchen. Tony wanted to call him back, tell him not to abandon his own father, but Tony bit back the words. 

“You guys have a nice place,” Tony commented as he struggled with removing his remaining boot. He rolled his eyes at himself, making one of those asinine comments when he’d only seen the entryway, but the polite phrases of small talk came in handy for when Tony felt so off-balance. He’d have to stop mocking people who used them. 

“It has character, which is what we wanted,” Steve said. “Original windows! Which are pretty, even if they are terrible in winter. We sometimes joke that the house has too much character - there’s a lot of things we’d like to do, eventually, for fix-ups and stuff, but, well… it’s home.”

Tony knew how that went. Well, not personally. He’d played a large role in the designing and building of his and Maya’s first - and only, until now - house, and oversaw all the renovations if he wasn’t doing them himself. He knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it done and it just did it. But he also knew that other people weren’t like that when it came to home renovations, either because of skill or money or time. 

Tony had plenty of the first two. The last was more scarce, but he had wanted a house that had plenty of projects so Tony had plenty of choices on how to spend his time. 

Divorced life was quieter, so far, and Tony wanted more issues he could throw himself into and actually _fix_.

“First home?” Tony asked, channeling Pepper’s politeness.

“Yup. Been here for two, almost three years now,” Steve said proudly. 

With their boots and coats and hats and gloves off, Steve led Tony down the hallway to the kitchen. The wooden floorboards creaked under them, that historic charm that Steve apparently loved and Tony thought about how to fix. 

Steve and Bucky’s place was cozy, though, in a way that Tony and Harley’s place wasn’t yet. There was art, framed drawings and paintings. As they turned into the kitchen, the walls were a warm yellow that contrasted with the older, dark cabinets. The place felt lived in, with stuff scattered along the edges of the room and decorations crowding the walls. 

It wasn’t Tony’s style, usually, but here it worked. The room felt warmer, even if the air hadn’t changed temperature. Tony wondered if he could get an interior designer to help recreate the look. 

Well, Tony didn’t need help recreating the dirty dishes piled into the sink or the papers stacked into one giant pile so that half of a table could be seen beneath it. Tony and Harley had enough mess of their own to match. 

Harley was poking around the art on the far wall, and then Bucky dashed into the kitchen with a grin on his face.

Tony heard the whump of a heater turning on.

“Fixed it,” Bucky declared. “Figured we’d kick the heat up too until we warmed up a bit.”

“Oh right, you said your oven wasn’t working,” Tony said, fingers already twitching. “I can take a look, see what the -”

“Right, you said not to trust your kitchen. Did you invite us over to poison us?” Harley interrupted. 

Bucky laughed. “Nah, we wouldn’t have given you a heads up if that’s what we wanted,” he said with a wink.

Steve made his way into the kitchen and started digging in a cupboard. “The oven is an issue, but the stove works fine. You can wait to see if we poison ourselves before you try, though. Or come here and watch, make sure I don’t add anything you’re allergic to,” Steve replied. 

Harley looked to Tony. 

Tony smirked and waved Harley to Steve. “Go ahead and make sure our neighbors have good intentions, since you’re the suspicious one.”

Harley grumbled but walked over to stand next to Steve. Bucky stepped around both of them as he made sure there were enough mugs for everyone. 

“How long have you been together?" Tony asked. It had to have been awhile, he decided. They moved too easily into and around each other’s spaces for it not to be old habit. 

“Oh, we were childhood friends,” Bucky answered. “Back when this guy -” he nodded to Steve, “-was just a little shrimp of a fellow.”

“No way,” Harley denied immediately. “He’s huge!”

Steve ducked his head, laughing a little. “Had my growth spurt late in life. College, really. All the way up to and through high school I was this tiny little thing. People stuffed me into trash cans like, all the time.”

Harley leveled a look at Bucky.

“Not me,” Bucky defended. “Back then I was the one getting Steve _out_ of trash cans, even if sometimes I think he did deserve it.”

“Hey,” Steve replied without heat. 

Bucky directed Tony into a seat at the table, and he gave Tony a wink. “He totally did. Mouthy little thing.”

Tony grinned. “Sounds familiar,” he said dryly. “Doesn’t it, Harley?”

“If people are going to stuff me into trash cans, then I’m not going to school!” Harley protested.

Steve frowned. “They better not. No school should let bullying slide, and don’t be afraid to say something if you see something.”

“Steve, you sound like one of those airport posters,” Bucky said, cutting through Steve’s intensity. “You’re right, of course,” he said in defense as Steve cut him a sharp look. “No one should let bullying slide.”

Harley shrugged. “Whatever. How, uh, how did you handle it?” 

Harley hadn’t managed to completely cover how much he wanted an answer to that question. 

Tony curled in on himself, just a little, at failing to provide a better answer to his kid. He wouldn’t ever regret getting Harley out of that situation, but he also didn’t want to teach Harley to run away from his problems. He hadn’t known what to do, other than to not channel his own father and tell Harley to suck it up and deal with it because that was just life. 

Tony wanted better for Harley then to grow up like Tony, and Tony wanted better for himself than to be like Howard Stark. 

“Like Bucky said, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut,” Steve said, voice even. He stirred his pan of hot chocolate on the stove, eyes on his pot, rather than to startle Harley with too much eye contact. “So I said stuff. It wasn’t easy, but I had Bucky at my back to help me out. Got into a lot of fights - didn’t have a very good record, but I felt good about who I was and what I was standing up for.”

“He’s always like this,” Bucky muttered to Tony, but there was a softness in Bucky’s eyes. “I keep telling him to run for political office with all those speeches, but…” 

“Can you teach me to fight?” Harley asked, eager.

Tony’s stomach twisted.

Steve blinked in surprise and darted a glance at Tony. “I can?”

“Oh no.” Bucky slashed his hand as if he was cutting the idea down. “You want to win the fights, Harley, and this punk just got his ass kicked. _I’m_ the one to teach you.”

“I got better,” Steve protested.

Bucky snorted. “After you grew six inches and packed on over fifty pounds of muscle. Now you just use flashy moves to intimidate people.”

“They work!”

“So far.”

Their bickering had the well worn track of an old argument, and Tony was grinning even as his chest squeezed tight. He’d thought that he and Maya’s arguments had been like that too, once, but then it had shifted - the arguments had gotten sharper, less fond. They’d gone from fun to banter into an outright battle. Tony didn’t want to see that shift in Bucky and Steve, but couldn’t stop himself from thinking that it might be inevitable. 

No, Tony needed to think about Harley learning to fight. Rhodey had taught Harley some self-defense moves, because Rhodey was like that, but this was something more and Tony didn’t know how he felt. 

“I don’t want you starting fights at school,” Tony said, breaking into the argument. 

“I don’t want to _start_ them, I want to _finish_ them,” Harley replied. 

Bucky and Steve laughed. 

“Yeah, he sounds like that dumb idiot,” Bucky said while thumbing at Steve. “Which means that if you do want to - and you’re okay with it -” Bucky tacks on, with a glance at Tony, “that I would teach. Putting you and Steve together is just asking for stupid stunts.”

“Oh now you’ve done it.” Tony overemphasizes a sigh, his lips twitching as he sees the curious - and excited - look on Harley’s face. 

“Please?” Harley asked, his eyes wide. 

Tony sniffed, buying himself a moment to consider. 

The moment passed, and Tony still wasn’t sure. Harley wanted this, was practically begging, and if Harley did run into bullies then Tony did want Harley to defend himself. Still, it was all too easy for Tony to see Harley throwing himself into fights because he thought he knew enough when he really, really didn’t. 

“Let’s see how you feel after you’re enrolled in school,” Tony compromised. “Get a routine down, and see if schedules work out.”

And, if Bucky and Steve were just making the offer to be nice, it would give them time to think of a polite way to back out. 

“But what if there are bullies then?” Harley pressed.

“I don’t think you can learn the master secret of fighting before the new semester starts,” Tony replied. “Don’t you remember all those martial arts moves about patience?”

“That’s totally fair,” Bucky said in support, even as Harley slumped against the counter. “And no hard feelings if you get caught up in school or extracurriculars, and the like. We’ll be here. We’re not moving, far as I know.”

“Maybe if someone sues us for crashing through that step you haven’t fixed yet,” Steve teased.

“Nag, nag, nag,” Bucky said with a dramatic sigh. 

Steve dished out the hot chocolate into the waiting mugs that Bucky had left lined up. Harley passed out the mugs, and soon they were all clustered around the cleared section of the table cupping their drinks. 

Tony sighed in appreciation as heat flooded his still-cold fingers. He took a sip; he’d gotten too used to drinking scalding-hot coffee to be bothered to let any drink cool now, and he hummed in approval. The hot chocolate was sweet and rich, exactly what he wanted.

“Very hot and very good,” Tony said in appreciation. 

“Exactly what Steve loves to hear,” Bucky said, the corner of his mouth just turning up into a hint of a smirk. 

Steve shot Bucky a stern look, but smiled at Tony. “Thanks, I”m glad you like it.”

They chatted about the move, Harley’s new school, other things that Harley enjoyed doing. They touched on Tony’s job - mechanic, is all he said - and how Bucky was an insurance agent and Steve was a graphic artist for a trucking company. Steve and Bucky talked about the other neighbors that Tony should meet soon. 

Natasha lived on the other side of Steve and Bucky and always had a fantastic garden in the summer. She was nice once you got to know her, but don’t ever step on her plants. Bruce was a research scientist for a pharmaceutical company. He was usually quiet and very nice, but had terrible road rage so try not to get in front of him during the morning commute. Then there was Sam, who was Steve’s running partner, and if Tony or Harley ever wanted to go for a morning run they were welcome to join.

Both Harley and Tony declined. 

Eventually the hot chocolate was gone and the sky had gone dark. Tony and Harley made their goodbyes, thanking Steve and Bucky. They wrapped themselves back in their coats and put on their boots, though stuffed their wet mittens and hats in their pockets rather than put them on again. 

They waved goodbye, leaped over the loose step, and then scurried back to their place. 

“Let me know when you’re hungry for dinner and we can heat up some leftovers,” Tony said. The hot chocolate had been rich, and Tony should probably feel guiltier that he’d ruined Harley’s dinner. 

“I like them. They’re nice, but not fake nice,” Harley decreed as he threw his coat one way and his boots the other. 

Tony sighed. Soon he would find the extra hangers to that Harley would be forced to hang up his coat. 

“Good, since they’re so close.” Not close enough to peer in through each other’s windows, at least, which was for the best because Tony might be tempted. Bucky and Steve out of their coats had only further showcased their broad shoulders. “I hope you like that kid they mentioned - Peter? We can give Shield High another look, yeah?” 

“Sure, whatever.”

With that ringing endorsement, Harley dashed upstairs to his room. Social hour was over for the day, Tony assumed.

Tony wandered to his own kitchen. He had his own dirty dishes in the sink, and his own table piled high with stuff. There were several more boxes that needed to be unpacked that lined the edges of all the rooms. 

As long as he and Harley were able to function, they were doing alright as far as Tony was concerned. He hadn’t put too much effort into unpacking what he considered the nonessentials. Preparing for guests wasn’t a priority, not with Pepper needed to catch up on her work after using some vacation days to help them move and Rhodey being stationed abroad in the military. 

But Harley was right - Steve and Bucky were nice without that overly polite veneer that Tony had come to expect out of neighbors. He had a lot of unpacking to do if he ever wanted to return the favor of inviting them over. Tony grabbed a box and opened it, and random kitchen supplies greeted him. 

Tony sighed and got started.


End file.
